Shenandoah + The Blue Ridge Mountains

Things to do in Shenandoah + The Blue Ridge Mountains

Whether you’re nature-inclined or not, there are plenty of great things to do in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Outdoorsmen and women will find that the mountain range is home to some of the highest peaks in the eastern United States, so rock climbing types and mountaineers will have no problem finding adventure. Alternatively, those who prefer to leave the ropes and carabiners at home, but still want to explore the area, will find that Blue Ridge Mountains are teeming with well-maintained hiking and walking trails, many of which feature unrivaled views of the region. If you’re more interested in learning about the culture of the area, why not visit places like the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, VA, which houses a wonderful collection of Appalachian art or the Galax, VA’s Blue Ridge Music Center, which is committed to cataloguing and preserving the work of the region’s many homegrown musician. During the summer, the Music Center also hosts concert series featuring local musicians. And finally, those looking for things to do in the Blue Ridge Mountains should consider packing gear and spending a few days camping out in the Shenandoah National Park. While there drive along the park’s famous Skyline Drive and see the many waterfalls, wildlife and natural structures that make the Blue Ridge Mountains so unique.

The red-roofed log-cabin store sits on the crest of a steep hill. Its porch (in the Fall) is strewn with pumpkins and features a cider press. Elsewhere on the property apple butter boils in a copper kettle hung over a wood fire.

in 1770, Jefferson sold some of the land surrounding Monticello, his sprawling Palladian home up in the hills just outside Charlottesville, to an Italian grower whose experiments with hybrid American-European grapes were among the first such plantings this side of the Atlantic.